Turkey Run State Park
For the past several months we'd been talking about getting away. Just a short camping trip, nothing fancy. We LOVE camping. We have a 32 ft. travel trailer so we don't exactly "rough" it, but we get away, as a family. I planned it at the last minute deciding on a campground we hadn't been to in years, but has the best hiking in the state (as far as we've found anyway). As we looked at the forecast it was showing "80% chance of rain"...for the entire week. I thought certainly that couldn't be true, after all rarely do you get that much rain straight. Maybe a day of it here and there, a little in the morning or through the night, but certainly the sun would peek out and win out over the rain...surely.
Knowing we'd be gone for several days we decided to have our hardwoods redone while we were away. This involved pretty much moving out of our main living space, placing everything in either the garage, extra bedroom, kitchen, office, or any place we could find a crack or crevice to stick wall hangings, knick knacks and all the furniture that normally fills our living and dining room. So we worked as a team moving everything out and all the while making sure the camper was packed and we were ready to go.
The drive was about 4 hours and it was a most perfect fall day! About halfway down I realized I had forgotten the pack and play...for the one year old. I shook it off and thought, it's only a couple of days, the other kids will be in the tent, I'll just make up a bed on the floor for him...no big deal. I wasn't letting anything ruin the trip, we were getting away to enjoy the beauty of fall, campfires, cooking over the fire and family time.
We arrived around dinner, set up camp, ate and started a fire. It was comfortably cool out, perfect for a fire. Then as we sat there the rain began. We jumped up and headed for the camper. It was Sunday night so we turned on the TV with the intent of catching the Eagles/Giants game, nothing, no service at the campground. So much for that idea. Being the first night we were exhausted from all the prep and after a little reading we were ready for bed. Four headed for the tent and the rest headed for the camper. The one year old didn't last long on the floor (imagine that) as he woke and quickly realized he was not confined and crawled his way out crying for me. I whisked him away to my bed and we were both back to sleep, not so soundly between the storm and a one year old tossing and turning pretty much waking every time he bumped me. Oh well, first night in the camper is always a little unpredictable.
We woke to the sound of the rain on the roof and at first I thought it was pleasant. Ah, the sound of rain. The one year old didn't sleep great and woke up early. We relaxed as much as we could in the camper as we realized that between the all night downpour and the gray steady misting of the day we would be prevented from exploring. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention we brought our dogs. Two very large dogs. They, like us, aren't interested in hanging out in the rain for the day (and we weren't interested in hanging out with wet dogs) so we now had 2 large dogs and nine people spending the day in a 32 ft trailer...tight. The tent, of course, accumulated some water and the kids would be sleeping in the camper until it could dry out a little. We played some games, napped and ventured out to the playground during the times the rain stopped and sun won out. It gave the kids a chance to run off some of the energy and us a chance to walk the dogs.
The rain stopped long enough to cook over the fire, so we enjoyed some delicious steaks that night. Back to the camper as the rain was back. This time we had to fit all seven kids in one small space for the night with the one year old winning the majority of the real estate. Once again the one year old's night repeated itself and he was back in my bed.
By morning the sound of rain on the roof was...annoying. All I could think was mud, mud everywhere. Water in the tent, can't cook over the fire, confined to a camper with a one year old. All the cuteness of the previous day was now putting me (and everyone else) over the edge. He was clearly on a mission to test our patience, emptying every draw in the camper and throwing all of my once clean silverware and linens on the dirty camper floor. He had a special affection for sharp knives and throwing things in the camper toilet. In particular toilet paper. We lost at least 3 rolls, glad we brought extra. The trash can seemed to be fair game in his mind as well, pulling out a used coffee filter and shaking it around the camper. This would be seen as a mess in my home kitchen, now put it in a small space like a camper...need I say more?? Electronic devices...he was all over them. He was keeping us busy just trying to figure out his next move. Taking him outside was not an option as there was mud everywhere. For some reason our site seemed the worst with the most standing water...or maybe at this point in the trip my glass was half empty? I'm really not sure.
The rain stopped mid morning and we decided rain or shine we were hiking. My oldest wasn't feeling the best and the 12 year old had a sore knee. Both had decided they weren't up for hiking. Knowing the two little girls wouldn't care either way, we left all four girls and the two dogs behind and headed out to the trails for an all boys (plus mom) hike.
As I put the one year old in the backpack, he smiled at me. I was quickly reminded of how precious he is...what a blessing. He is a challenge, after all he is 1...that's his job. It is hard to see that amidst the trying moments confined within the camper walls. He was virtually silent riding on my back throughout the entire 3+ hour hike, napping along the way.
Yes, part of the trail.
Love these boys.
Caves and caverns abound in the rocky crevices of Turkey Run.
This is actually a trail...time to take off the shoes and roll up our pants! It was brisk, no doubt, perfect for the boys!
The rain had made everything exceptional...waterfalls and streams were gorgeous.
The ladders were part of the trail as well.
Stopping for a rest...my favorite picture!
climbing the ladders
At this point we were still able to dodge the stream, but as you can see behind me it's looking like time to take off our shoes.
Of course the boys found a frog...it just wouldn't have been right if they hadn't!
We returned to the camper following our 3+ hours of hiking ready to share with the girls all of the excitement of our day. We were wet and chilly and ready for some hot showers! We shared with the girls all of our pictures and of course they wanted to go. The oldest was feeling better and the 12 year old had rested her knee enough that she was willing to hobble along in an effort not to miss out. The rain of that day hadn't effected our hike as we were mostly covered by a thick mass of trees or rock so we had avoided it. We were quickly reminded of the constant rain upon returning to our muddy site.
At this point too our camper had run out of water. If you know anything about campers they have a holding tank for water. If you are at a "full hook-up" site you have a hose hooked to your camper and all the water you could possibly need. If you are not (as in this situation) then you have to fill your holding tank when you arrive and unless you can reach the nearest water source with a hose, you only have the water your tank holds. By this point we were out...the bathroom wasn't far but it's sure nice to be able to use your camper bathroom. So we resorted to carrying and boiling water for dishes, hand washing and using the bathroom. Just another interesting twist to the trip.
We were quickly reminded of all we had missed (NOT) at the campsite looking at our fire ring surrounded by a small pond, seeing standing water in the tent, a mud pit outside our camper door, a now fidgety one year old and more rain. The one year old learned this fascinating new trick ...if you scream at the top of your lungs in a high pitched tone all those in the camper with the ability to help will act quickly. This is a real patience tester. Being in such a small space and considering the conditions, it was not the time to train this out of him. The goal at this point was "keep the peace" and this involved doing what you must to keep him from screaming.
Another wet night, followed by another wet morning...I was beginning to become grouchy. I had wanted so bad for this to be a perfect trip and in my efforts to be optimistic (aka in denial) my grouchiness was becoming contagious. The fact was the weather was less than ideal for camping and we were trapped in the camper and we had to deal with it. But I wanted everyone to be happy and enjoy themselves and quite frankly just pretend it wasn't cold and rainy! Impossible...I was being unrealistic and in an effort to force this on everyone I was becoming more and more irritable.
The following morning we had decided to head out for another hike this time with all the kids. It was a little slower with the 12 year old limping along and a 3 year old who only wants to/is capable of walking about 1/4 of the time. But the beauty was still there...in abundance. The girls were impressed even commenting how the pictures just didn't do it justice.
Wet...but awesome
One rock at a time...
The suspension bridge on the way out.
It crossed our minds a few times to pack up and head home. But because of the floors being refinished this wasn't an option. I'm glad ultimately that it wasn't or we would've missed all the beauty. The grand finale came when we bought some local park-approved firewood at the nearby gas station. Finally a night with no rain and we were cooking our favorite camping meal over the fire. One small dilemma...the wood was wet and not seasoned. It would not light and you know how a fire is supposed to crack and pop? Not this one...it sizzled. You could literally hear the water sizzling in the wood. As we sat around the fire waiting for it to get hot enough to cook over, we were all very quiet, at this point there wasn't much to say. We were eventually able to cook over it and the meal was delicious...just added to the um...adventure?
The morning before we left I was reading the Proverbs for the day and I came across this....
Proverbs 16:32 "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."
I realized at that moment that as much as I begged God and believed for sunshine, it just wasn't in the forecast. God wanted me to deal with me. It wasn't my responsibility to control the spirit of all around me (although as moms sometimes we carry that burden unnecessarily) but rather to control the only one I could...mine. If the fruits of my spirit are to be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control then I can control my spirit to reflect those fruits. I could not control the weather, the sick teenager, the hobbling 12 year old, the wet firewood, the sleeping conditions or the patience-testing one year old (to name a few), but I could, with the grace and peace of the Father, fight against the flesh and the principalities of darkness and bear the fruits of His Spirit.
